Elevator



(No Model.) 7 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

0. W. BALDWIN.

ELEVATOR. No. 478,040. Patented June 28', 1892.

[ /yfliw E a Y ag (No Model.) 3 Sheets Sheet 2 O. W. BALDWIN.

ELEVATOR.

Patented June 28; 1892.

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(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

G. W. BALDWIN.

ELEVATOR.

No. 478,040. Patented Jung 28, 1892.

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UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CYRUS \V. BALDWIN, OF YONKERS, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE NATIONAL COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ELEVATO R.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 478,040, dated June 28, 1892. Application filed June 21, 1887. Serial No. 242,061. (No model-l To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CYRUS W. BALDWIN, a citizen of the United States, residingat Yonkers, county of WVestchester, and State of New 5 York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Elevators, fully described and represented in the following specification and the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same.

I This invention relates particularly to improvements in the means for operating the main valve of an elevator, the object of the invention being to relieve the conductor from 1 a large portion of thelabor caused by operat-.

I 5 ing the valve directly without at the same time placing the valve beyond the direct and positive control of the conductor.

In the class of elevators which are in most general use at the present time the valve for controlling the movements of the elevator is operated by the conductor in the car through a hand-rope or other direct connection with the valve. This valve is necessarily of considerable size and weight and has so much friction that considerable power is required to operate it, and this, when the connections are direct, involves a large amount of labor. So great is the labor involved in operating the valve directly in this manner that many efiorts have been made to devise means by which the valve can be operated in such man- 'ner as to relieve the conductor of this labor. One of the ways in which it has been proposed to accomplish this was through an auxiliary cylinder having a piston which was connected to and operated the main valve of the ole vator, the valve of the auxiliary cylinder being operated by the conductor in the car through an ordinary hand-rope or other connection. This arrangement accomplished the desired result of relieving the conductor of thelabor of operating the main valve directly; but it has not proved wholly satisfactory in practice, because it removed the main valve from the direct and positive control of the conductor, and thus any slight imperfection in the operation of either the main or auxiliary valves of the auxiliary piston might prevent the proper stopping or starting of the car, and thus occasion annoyance.

The present invention aims to secure sub stantially the benefit of the auxiliary cylinder and piston asa means for operating the main valve, so as to relieve the conductor of the principal part of that labor, while at the same time the main valve remains under the direct and positive control of the conductor; so as to be operated byhim directly independently of the auxiliary cylinder and piston in case the latter fails to act properly or in case of an emergency.

As a full understanding of the invention can be best given by an illustration and a detailed description of a valve-operating apparatus for an elevator embodying the same, all further preliminary description will be omitted and a full description given, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a diagrammatic elevation of a hydraulic elevator, showing the present invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional elevation of the auxiliary cylinder and piston, showing the connections for operating the valves of both the main and auxili- 7 5 ary cylinders. -.Fig. 3 is an elevation illustrating a modified arrangement of the parts. Fig.

4 is an enlarged horizontal section of the elevator-car, taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

The particular form of elevatormotor shown in the present case is that in which thepower is derived from a cylinder having a moving piston, upon one side of which the water is admitted to cause the car to ascend, the water then passing through acirculating- 'pipe to the opposite side of the piston to permit the car to descend, and then escaping from the cylinder as the ear again ascends. This form of elevator has been selected merely for the purpose of illustration, as the 0 improvements constituting the present invention are equally applicable to other forms of elevators.

Referring to the drawings, it is'to be understood that A represents the car of the ele- 5 vator; B, the main cylinder; C, the traveling pulley connected to the piston-rod c of the cylinder B; D, the stationary pulley at the top of the elevator-shaft, and d the hoistingcable. The cylinder B is provided with a [co circulating-pipe Z) and with a valve E for controlling the circulation of the water from the upper to the lower end and its final escape from the lower end of the cylinder. All'of these parts are of the ordinary form, and are organized in the manner common in this class of elevators.

The valve-rod a of the valve E is connected to a lever 40, which is pivoted at one end upon a frame-work F, rising from the top of the casing of the valve E, and carries at its opposite end a bell-crank lever 39, which is pivoted on the side of the lever 40. Onearm of the bell-crank lever 39 is provided with a stud,which is arranged to move between stops 10, formed on the lever 40 in such manner as to limit the movement of the lever 39. The other arm of the lever 39 is connected to a rod 38, to which motion is imparted from the car through an ordinary hand-rope or other suitable operating connection.

lever 40 (see Figs. 1 and 2) is a small auxiliary cylinder G, havinga piston g, the rod h of which is connected by a link 3.7 with the lever 40. The cylinder G is provided with the usual induction and exhaust ports 2, which are controlled by a valve 36, the rod 11 of which in turn is pivoted to one end of a lever 14, which is fulcrumed on the fulcrum-pivot of the lever 40. The opposite end of the lever 14 is connected by a rod 33 with the bell-crank lever 39. The pivot-bolt 9, which connects the link 12 and rod 13, passes through an inclined slot- 15, formed in a plate 35., which is.

bolted to the frame-work F. The slot 15 of the plate 35. is set at such an inclination that as the pivot-bolt 9is moved in either direction from the central position (shown in Fig. 2) the valve 36 will be moved up or down, as the case may be, so as to open the ports 2 for the admission of water to one end of the cylinder G and permit the escape of the water from the opposite end. The valve-chest ll of the cylinder G receives its supply of water from the circulatiug-pipe b or any other suitable source through a pipe 32, and the water after performing its work in the cylinder G escapes through a waste-pipe 31.

The operation of the apparatus as thus far described is as follows: As shown in the drawings, the various parts of the apparatus are on center, which will be their position when the car is at rest. Assuming that the conductor desires that the car should ascend, he will, through the ordinary hand-rope or other similar apparatus with which the elevator is provided, impart an upward movement to the rod 38. This will rock the bell-crank lever 39 until the stud on the lever comes into contact with the outer stop 10. This movement of the lever 39 will impart a corresponding movement to the rod 33, lever 14, and rod 13 and move the bolt 9 upward alongthe slot 15, so as to move the valve 36 upward and open the ports 2 to allow the water to enter the conductor will move in the opposite direction until the stud on its :lower arm abuts against the inner stop 10.

lower end of the cylinder G and escape from the upper .end. As soon as. this takes place the water entering the cylinder G will exert an upward pressure upon the piston g, which will tend to raise the lever 40 and the main valve. The parts may be so proportioned that the pressure upon the piston g will be sufficient to perform the entire work of raising the main valve, but it will be preferable to so proportion the parts that the pressure upon the piston Q will be nearly but not quite su'fficient to move the main valve, leaving a small amount of the work to be done by the conductor. This will give the conductor a more absolute and perfect control over the movements of the main valve without adding but a trifle to his labor. After the lever 39 has been rocked as just described, so as to carry the stud upon its lower arm against the stop 10 and shift the valve 36, the further more ment of the operating device in the car will Located upon the frame-work F above the act directly upon the lever 40 and the main .valve, and the conductor, with the aid afforded by the piston can then by a very slight effort raise the lever 40 and the main valve, so as to allow the ater to escape from the lower end of the cylinder B and cause 1 the car to move upward. which is connected by a link 12 with a rod 13, l

allow it to descend, the the bell-crank lever 39 To stop the car or This will reverse the valve 36 and admit the 1 water to the upper end of the cylinder G and I allow it to escape from the lower end, so that the piston g 5 upon the lever 40, and with the aid thus afforded the conductor can with very little effort move the lever 40 and the main valve downward until it is on center to stop the car or past the center to allow the car to descend. If the parts are so proportioned that the pressure upon the auxiliary piston is sufficient to move the main valve without any aid from the conductor, then as soon as the car stops at any landing the conductor will move the lever 39 and the auxiliary valve 36 to the central position shown in Fig. 2, so as 1 to arrest and hold the auxiliary piston at its I central position. that substantially the whole labor of moving the main valve E is accomplished by the auxiliary cylinder and piston G and g, the only a labor performed by the conductor being that of shifting the sinall auililiary valve and Y giving a small amount of aid to the auxiliary piston, and

will exert a downward pressure From this it will be seen if the parts are properly adjusted this will be very little. The main valve is, however, at all times under the direct and positive control of the conductor, so that if at any time through any slight derangement of the mechanism or for any other cause the auxiliary piston should fail to act so. as to aid in operating the main valve the conductor can by continuing the move-ment of the rod 38 after the bell-crank lever 39 hasrocked so as to bring the stud upon its arm against 'one of the stops 1O operate the main valve wholly directly from the car, andthus have perfect control of the elevator.

' justable upon the frame-work F. Fort-his purpose the top of the frame-work is slotted, so as to admit of the cyliuderbeing placed in different positions upon theframe-work, and the frame-work is also provided with slots 8, through which the bolts for securing the plate 35 pass, so as to permit that plate to be adjusted to diiferentpositions to correspond with the position of the cylinder, and the rod 13 and lever 40 are provided with a number of holes 6 7 to permit the lever 14 and link 37 to be connected at diiferent points.- The valve 86, as herein shown, is a slide-Valve of the ordinary D-pattern, but it may of course be of any other suitable form. In some cases itmay be preferable to employa piston-valve and such a valve can readily be substituted for the form shown.

When the parts are organized, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the weight of the parts will assist in moving the main valve downward and: will resist the upward movement of the valve.

This, if not compensated for, would tend to make the power required to move the valve 1n one direction greater than that required to move it in the other direction, and this might be objectionable. This can, however, be nearly or quite overcome by providing acounterpoise-weight to balance the weight of the parts. One convenient way of arranging such a counterpoise is illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, in which the lever 40 is provided with an extension 20, projecting beyond its fulcrum and carrying a weight 21 of sufiicient size to properly balance the parts.

Another way of effecting the same result is shown in Fig. 3,in which the auxiliary cylinder G is located below the lever and at theside of the main valve E. The auxiliary cylinder is adjustable upon its support f, the same as upon the frame-work Fin the organization showniu Figs. 1 and 2 and for the same purpose. The plate 35, in which the slot 15 is formed, is in this case connected to and moves with the cylinder G, and. the piston-rod h extends above the lever 40 and passes through a guide 1', which is adjustable upon the frame-work F. By reason of this arrangement of the parts the pressure of the water upon the side of the piston g, to which the rod h is connected, is exerted to move the parts downward, in which direction the least power is required, while the pressure of the water upon the opposite side of the piston g, which is greater by reason of the absence of the rod h, is exerted to move the parts upward, in which direction the most power is required. This difference inthe power developed by the piston 9 upon its upand-down strokes can by properly'proportioning the parts he made to practically or exactly balance the apparatus.

It has been stated that the apparatus for operating the main valve,'which is herein shown, can be used in'connection with an ordinary hand-rope or any of'the other wellknown forms of connection for controlling,

the movements of the car. One form-0t connection well suited for thepurpose is, however, illustrated in the present cases This connection consists of a double lever 30, which is fulcrumed at the bottom of the elevator shaft and connectedat one end to the rod 38..

This lever is'also connected upon opposite sides of its fulcrum-pivot withtwo ropes m n, which are suspended from the top of the shaft.

Supported upon the bottom of the car is a rock-shaft 29, one end of which is provided with a vertical lever 28', which projectsupward through the bottom of the car, while lts other end is provided with a horizontal cross bar 27, located just outside the edge of the car. This cross-bar carries at each end two pulleys 16 17 18=19,'mounted side by side. The rope m passes from the top of the well downward under the pulley 19, upward between the pulleys 19 and 17, and downward over the pulley 17 to the lever 30, wlnle the rope n passes from-the top of the well downward under the pulley-16, upward between pulleys 16 18, and downward over pulley 18 to the lever at the opposite side of its fulcrum. The parts are so adjusted that when the cross-bar 27 is'in a horizontal position and the levers 3O 40 in the same position, the valves 36 and E and the piston 9 will be on cen ter, and the car will consequently be at rest. 13y moving the lever 28 in either; direction, however, it will readily beseen that one of the ropes (the one toward which the lever 1s moved) will be taken up at its lower end where it is connected to-the lever 30,'*while the other one will be correspondingly paid out at its lower end, thus rocking the lever 30, so as to first rock the bell-crank 39 to open the valve 36, and then by the continued movement of the lever 28, operating the main valve, to start the car either up or down.- By moving the lever 28 in the opposite direction the taking up and paying outof' the ropes will be reversed and the main valve moved, so as to start'the car in the opposite direction.

What I claim is' j 1. The combination, with thejcar, motor, and main valve of an elevator, of anauxiliary cylinder having a piston connected to-said' main valve to operate or assist inoperating the same,'a valve for controlling the move-- mentsof said auxiliary piston, operating de vices for the auxiliary valve arranged to be controlled from the car, and actuating conments of said auxiliary piston, an operatingrope connected to said auxiliary valve and arranged to be controlled from the car, and connections between said rope and the main valve, whereby the continued movement of the rope after operating the auxiliary valve is'communicated directly to the main valve, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with the car, motor, and main valve of an elevator, of an auxiliary cylinder having a piston connected to said the same, a valve for controlling the movements of the auxiliary piston, an operatingrope arranged to be controlled from the car and connected to both the main and auxiliary valves, and means for permitting an amount of lost motion between said rope and the main valve, substantially as described.

4. The combination, with the car, motor,

. and main valve of an elevator and a leverfor operating the same, of an auxiliary cylinder having a piston connected to said lever to operate or assist in operating the valve, a valve for controlling the movements of the auxiliary piston, an operating-rope arranged to be controlled from the car and connected to the auxiliary valve, and connections between said rope and the lever of the main valve, whereby the continued movement of the rope after operating the auxiliary valve operates the main valve, substantially as described.

5. The combination, with the car, motor, and main valve of an elevator and the lever 40 for operating the same, of the auxiliary cylinder G, having the piston g connected to said lever, the lever 39, pivoted to the lever 40 and arranged to vibrate between stops on the latter, an operating-rope connected to the lever 39 and arranged to be controlled .from the car, and connections between the lever 89 and the valve of the auxiliary cylinder G, substantially as described.

main valve to operate or assist in operating In testimony whereof I have hereunto set 1 my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CYRUS NV. BALDWIN.

'Witnesses:

J. J. KENNEDY, G. M. BORST. 

